Chapter 05 Chapter 5

Later, Ren Li also thought about asking Teacher He to find the math test paper that disappeared for no reason, but the questions had been explained and she had mastered the question types. In addition, she would be nervous when entering the office to greet the teacher, so after thinking about it, she gave up.

So how the test paper was lost became an unsolved mystery in Ren Li's mind.

But she mustered up the courage to give the rice ball to Wen Shuo, but Wen Shuo didn't eat it in the end.

After class, several boys from the next class came and surrounded Wen Shuo as he went to the corridor outside. When Wen Shuo came back, class had already started. He was holding a box of French fries and also ate a hamburger.

So he casually placed the rice ball that Ren Li gave him in the most conspicuous place on the pile of books on the desk.

Ren Li was beginning to regret giving Wen Shuo the rice balls. Wen Shuo was always surrounded by people, and the rice balls were so conspicuously placed there, someone might notice. Ren Li didn't want anyone to know about the gift, as Wen Shuo was always popular with the girls, and she didn't want to be gossiped about.

But since the food had already been given away, it was inappropriate to ask for it back. So, for the entire afternoon, Ren Li's mind was split in two, and she would occasionally glance at Wen Shuo's desk. As a result, after two classes, the rice ball was still there.

The last class in the afternoon was English. Sure enough, during the break before class, Zhou Qi saw the rice ball.

He probably didn't eat much at lunch, so when he saw some food on Wen Shuo's table, he just picked it up.

Wen Shuo looked up and glanced at him. Zhou Qi paused for a second, then put it down obediently.

Zhou Qi: "Boss, where did this come from?"

Wen Shuo glanced at Ren Li, who was busy correcting a wrong question, and said casually, "It was given to me by a girl."

Zhou Qi was surprised: "Huh? I thought you never accepted food from girls. Why don't you just give it to me? I'm hungry."

Wen Shuo didn't say anything. He just picked up a piece of note, wrote something on it, and then stuck it on the rice ball.

Zhou Qi came forward and saw the two words above, and couldn't help but click his tongue twice.

"Don't move"

Wen Shuo took out a beef stick from the hole in the table and threw it into his arms along with the magazine: "Don't put things in my place anymore."

Zhou Qi decided to quit while he was ahead: "Okay."

Although Ren Li was doing her homework, she kept her ears open, paying attention to the conversation between the two, but she didn't know what Wen Shuo had done. Fortunately, after dinner, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, because Wen Shuo and the rice ball were finally gone.

-

Although discipline at No. 4 Middle School is strict, evening self-study is entirely voluntary, and even so, no one dares not to attend. Because there's a lot of homework and the class teacher occasionally checks in, immersive learning is much better than at home, not to mention that you can always find someone to answer questions you don't understand.

But there are always exceptions.

Wen Shuo had no interest in evening self-study classes. He was a fast learner, often finishing in one class what others would have completed in two. Consequently, he never attended self-study classes in the evenings, and naturally, he never took the school bus home, as the bus wouldn't leave until evening self-study classes were over.

Of course, he was the only one in Class 17 who dared to do this. As long as all assignments were completed and submitted on time, Teacher He would turn a blind eye to the so-called privileges of top students.

Evening study hadn't started yet, and Wen Shuo was about to pack up and leave as usual. Zhou Qi looked at him eagerly, a little envious. But he had already skipped evening study yesterday, and if he skipped again today, the chances of being caught by Old He were high. He could only behave himself for one day.

Wen Shuo said goodbye to Zhou Qi and walked out the back door. The summer evening breeze blew against his face, bringing a slight coolness. The hallway was quiet. He walked down the stairs to the first floor, pulled out his phone, hailed a taxi, and when he put his phone away, he saw several familiar faces from other classes who he often played basketball with—Zhang Yang, Cheng Yuhang, and Lu Rendong.

None of them are in the key classes, and the class teacher basically doesn't care about them during evening self-study, so it is normal for them to skip classes.

Cheng Yuhang called out to him, "Wen Shuo, I'm waiting for you. Do you want to go out and play with me tonight?"

As he spoke, he made a dribbling and shooting gesture.

Wen Shuo didn't even ask where we were going, and simply refused: "No, I have to go back early today. My mom is back from a business trip."

Everyone exclaimed in agreement. Wen Shuo's parents were both career-oriented, especially his mother, who was often on business trips and flew back and forth every day. If she came back, Wen Shuo would most likely go home first.

Several people were talking as they walked towards the school gate. During the conversation, someone first brought up the topic of whether there were any pretty girls in the freshman class this year. Lu Rendong seemed to have suddenly thought of something and became interested. He asked Wen Shuo, "Brother Shuo, is Ren Li in your class?"

Wen Shuo hummed, and Lu Rendong tutted, "Wow, she's really from your class. Next time I come to see you, I'll have to take a look. I heard there's a new girl who transferred from the Normal University Affiliated High School in her senior year and got directly into the key class at No. 4 Middle School. She's incredibly pretty, and my friends at the Normal University all say we stole their goddess."

Cheng Yuhang couldn't help but ask: "Are there any photos? Let me see them."

Zhang Yang: "Direct admission to the key class?"

Lu Rendong had actually only heard about it from others. He had never actually seen Ren Li, let alone met her, so he asked Wen Shuo for help: "Is this girl named Ren Li really that beautiful?"

Wen Shuo casually replied, "That's it."

Cheng Yuhang: "Speaking of this, I remembered that Brother Shuo and I saw a girl on the school bus today. She was also very pretty, but I forgot to take a picture. I don't know which class she was in."

Wen Shuo paused and said, "She is Ren Li. By the way, she is also my new deskmate."

His words contained a lot of information, and for a moment, everyone else was stunned.

Cheng Yuhang was the first to react: "Oh my god, why didn't you tell me earlier? I was thinking today that if I saw her again, I must get her contact information. Now... forget it. I'm afraid Brother Shuo will protect his new deskmate, haha."

Lu Rendong: "Forget it, Wen Shuo might not like this, right? He probably likes Zhao Manyue."

"Yeah, that's true." Cheng Yuhang turned to ask Wen Shuo, "Brother Shuo, are you and Zhao Manyue together? I heard people say you were pursuing her. You even went to her birthday yesterday and gave her a gift."

Wen Shuo: "Who is talking nonsense? It's fake. I'm not interested."

He spoke briefly and to the point, almost as if he was eager to clarify.

Cheng Yuhang tutted his words. Zhang Yang was still wondering how Ren Li had gotten directly into the key class. After much thought, he came up with his own conclusion: "Then this new student must have a very powerful family background, otherwise how could he have been transferred to the key class in his senior year? It's not just academic status that's an issue. I also wanted to transfer to the key class back then, but I used several connections to no avail."

Cheng Yuhang thought for a moment and said, "Yes, Ren Li looks, well, how should I put it, like a little white flower in a greenhouse living a peaceful life. It's obvious that she's been protected too well by her family..."

Lu Rendong: "Oh my god, I'll have to go and see it next time. I like this, haha."

Cheng Yuhang: "Go to hell..."

The three of them were discussing Ren Li, and Wen Shuo suddenly didn't want to listen anymore. In a blink of an eye, they were outside the school gate. The car he had called had also arrived, so he turned around and got in.

-

In the next few days, Ren Li had adapted a lot.

It was another day of evening self-study. After the bell rang, she packed up her things as usual and went downstairs hand in hand with Zhang Xintong.

Zhang Xintong was going to the school's dormitory area, so the two parted at the intersection, and Ren Li walked alone towards the school bus stop.

The school bus at night was not as crowded as during the day, and since Ren Li had arrived early, there were still seats available. She found an empty seat and sat down. Not long after, the school bus drove out of the school gate.

She was already very familiar with the road after getting off the bus. After crossing a red light and walking a little further, she reached the gate of the community. After entering the gate and passing two tall buildings, she would reach her home.

It was almost nine o'clock, and the lights were on upstairs. It was her mother waiting for her. Ren Li took out her key, opened the door, and saw Ren Quan.

She was stunned for a moment, then she smiled happily. Before she even put down her schoolbag, she couldn't wait to run over and said, "Dad, you're back."

Ren Quan was sitting on the sofa. When he saw Ren Li coming back, he quickly put down his phone and opened his arms: "Hey, look who is this? It turns out that my precious daughter is back."

Ren Quan is a politician. He was transferred to the next city last year. He is very busy and often not at home, so Lin Yuan is responsible for taking care of Ren Li's daily life.

Lin Yuan brought out a bowl of porridge from the kitchen, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, "Lili, stop arguing with your dad. Go put down your schoolbag, wash your hands, and eat something."

Ren Li hurried back to her bedroom, quickly cleaned up, and sat back down at the table. It was a rare occasion for the family of three to have dinner together, and although Ren Li had already eaten some at school, she still managed to finish a bowl of porridge.

During the meal, Ren Quan asked her if she was adapting to the new school. Ren Lidu answered truthfully: "The teachers and classmates are very caring towards me. We are in the key class, so it's okay."

Lin Yuan: "Fortunately, Lili was transferred to another school in advance. The last year of high school is more important than anything else."

Ren Quan: "I heard from Lao Lin the other day that No. 4 Middle School is a key school in the city and has a guaranteed admission rate, so I learned about this school. As long as our Lili is well, that's more important than anything else. By the way, you know Lao Lin's son, Lin Jiacheng, he also goes to No. 4 Middle School."

Ren Li thought for a moment and shook her head: "I have absolutely no impression."

Lin Yuan: "Lin Jiacheng? Isn't this your elementary school classmate? I know her mother, your Aunt Zhou. Have you forgotten? When you were little, I was busy after school, so she picked you up a few times."

Ren Li: "Oh, it seems that's the case."

Lin Yuan: "That's great. I'll invite your Aunt Zhou to have dinner with me in a couple of days. I'll ask her to bring Jiacheng along so they can get to know each other. That way, if anything happens at No. 4 Middle School in the future, there'll be someone to look after him."

Ren Li didn't really want to participate in this kind of occasion and instinctively wanted to refuse: "Mom, forget it. The discipline at No. 4 Middle School is quite strict now. It's best not for boys and girls to eat together."

Lin Yuan: ...

Why did she feel that this sentence sounded a little awkward?